Bamboo Shoots: 竹の子

Takenoko, 竹の子 or たけのこ, are bamboo shoots in Japanese. Recently, whenever I look at takenoko, I think about the Ghibli film about Kaguya-hime かぐや姫の物語.

Today, there was fresh takenoko at the farmers market (and it was fairly cheap), so impulsively bought some…! This is a new experience for me, as I have only ever bought them packaged.

I boiled and prepared it, according to some directions online. I think it worked, although I think more experimenting is needed to actually understand the process.

I made takenoko and shiso gyoza with tofu instead of pork. I added in Okinawa garlic, green onions, cabbage, and seasoned. Maybe I will even include a recipe later. Homemade gyoza (mandu, potstickers, dumplings) are the best and so easy to freeze the extra for quick meals or snacks later!